County passes on Spanish Web site
Residents at a meeting speak out against a plan that would have added a Spanish translation for the Health and Human Services site.
By CHANDRA BROADWATER
Published January 25, 2006
BROOKSVILLE - Will Hernando County government habla espanol?
Not any time soon if some county commissioners and residents have anything to say about it.
On Tuesday, the commission put off indefinitely approving a Spanish Web site for the county's Health and Human Services Department.
The decision came after a majority of residents who attended the meeting spoke against the idea. Commissioners Jeff Stabins and Robert Schenck also expressed reservations.
The venture would have added a Spanish translation only for the Health and Human Services site, not the entire county's, for one year. The trial run would have cost the county about $2,600.
The step was part of a plan that commissioners asked Health and Human Services director Jean Rags to research 11/2 years ago. They wanted her to find out how to better serve the county's 11,000 Spanish-speaking residents.
A Web site was one way. Last year, the department's brochure was printed in Spanish in addition to English.
Rags even has a Spanish translator in her department whom other county officials often ask to borrow. The need is there, she said.
"But change is hard," Rags said. "This is a big change for Hernando County. Year after year, it's grown and diversified, and some changes just seem to come slow and hard."
As with other counties in the state, the Hispanic community has become the largest minority group in Hernando. Hillsborough County faced a similar decision with its Web site in 2003.
Special software translates Hillsborough's entire site into 13 languages, said Roger Dean, the county's technology services director.
It was cheaper for the county to go with software for $12,000 a year rather than hire someone to manually translate the pages, Dean said.
"We had a lot of mixed reviews at first," he said. "Some liked it, and some didn't. But the way I look at it, the site is international, not just for local use. If you can provide information for someone who wants to visit or move here, that means there's great potential for the county."
Rags said Tuesday that she would discuss with commissioners the possible use of similar software, or other means, to reach out to Hernando's Hispanic community. She wanted everyone to feel comfortable with whatever decision is made, she said.
Stabins said a decision about the site Tuesday would have divided people, rather than united them. He wanted to see the idea reworked.
"We are all immigrants of this nation," Stabins said. "But we are an English-speaking country."
Despite his Italian heritage and elderly family members who speak Italian, Schenck said, public money should not be spent on a site for one language and not others.
"I feel like this is unfair to other ethnicities," he said.
Commissioner Chris Kingsley, who favored the Spanish Web site, noted that Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.
"The premise of this board is open communication," he said. "It's not about being American or not but helping people assimilate into a culture and get the services they need."
Twice, Hernando resident Rachel Rodriguez tried to convince the board of the site's value. She said it would help people learn more about the place they live in and help themselves.
"I was embarrassed," commission Chairwoman Diane Rowden said. "This is a service that will help people. The Latin-American community ought to be very upset with the board for not being able to make a decision."
Chandra Broadwater can be reached at cbroadwater@sptimes.com or 352 848-1432.